Jobs With the Best (and Worst) Job Security

Since hitting 10.0% in October 2009 — its highest level in over two and a half decades — the unemployment rate has been steadily declining in the United States. Today, the unemployment rate sits at a healthy 4.1%. While much of the American workforce now has an easier time finding a job than they did nine years ago, there are dozens of jobs with unemployment rates reminiscent of those in the immediate wake of the Great Recession.

Due to a range of factors, including broad economic forces related to globalization and technological advances, certain jobs are becoming less secure. Today’s job market is more competitive than it was in decades past, and workers with higher educational attainment and more specialized skills are rewarded.

Not only are high-skill workers with higher educational attainment more likely to earn higher wages, but also they are far less likely to face the prospect of unemployment. For a number of highly specialized occupations, including tax examiners, dental hygienists, and statisticians, unemployment rates are only a fraction of a percentage point. Meanwhile, a number of lower-skilled occupations face the opposite extreme. Occupations such as dishwashers, produce sorters, and telemarketers have unemployment rates well into the double digits.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed unemployment rates by occupation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the workers with the best and worst job security. The 30 jobs with the highest job security have unemployment rates below 1.0%, while the 30 jobs with the lowest job security have unemployment rates of 7.5% or above.

Correction: Due to a data processing error, a previous version of the story incorrectly noted the typical entry level education requirements for six occupations on this list. For those same occupations, projected annual job growth and median annual wage, which were previously noted as N/A, have also been updated.